South Africa vs Tanzania

South Africa aims to return to victory when they face Tanzania in a friendly match at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Our prediction for this Bafana Bafana versus Taifa Stars clash on Friday is a match with under 2.5 goals.

The home side is coming off a 1-0 defeat to Mozambique in a friendly at the same venue on Wednesday. However, this result does not overshadow their strong showing in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where they lead Group C and are in a prime position to advance after six matches.

With four victories in their last six games across all competitions, Bafana Bafana are motivated to sharpen their form. Their recent five matches have typically seen only one team scoring, suggesting another low-scoring encounter is likely.

Tanzania, on the other hand, desperately need to turn their form around, arriving after four straight losses. In each of those games, the visitors failed to find the net, underscoring their attacking woes. Despite this, Tanzania hold second place in Group E of the World Cup qualifiers, keeping their hopes alive for the next round.

A victory may still be elusive for Tanzania, who have managed only two wins in their last ten matches across all competitions, including friendlies. For Bafana Bafana’s coach Hugo Broos, this friendly offers a chance to evaluate new players at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday.

Broos’ squad will play one of two friendlies, with Tanzania visiting Polokwane before a subsequent match against Mozambique three days later. With Mamelodi Sundowns players absent due to preparations for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Broos has selected a different squad, allowing him to assess fresh talent ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho away and Nigeria at home in September.

Tanzania defeated Congo 3-0 before falling to Morocco 2-0 in the same time frame, and Bafana Bafana will be hoping to keep up the momentum after winning 2-0 over Lesotho and Benin in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March.

Head-to-head
This Friday marks the fourth encounter between South Africa and Tanzania. In their three prior meetings, they drew 1-1 in the Four Nations competition in 2002, Bafana Bafana won a friendly 1-0 in 2011, and the Taifa Stars triumphed 1-0 in a Cosafa Cup match in 2017.